The rate of deaths due to motor vehicle crashes has decreased 19.8% between 2007 and 2011. Since 2011, the deaths due to motor vehicle trraffic accidents have been slowly climbing. Injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes account for about 300 deaths each year in Connecticut. More than 4 in 10 of the motor vehicle fatalities involved alcohol-related driving. Prevention efforts are focused on reducing impaired driving, and targeting drivers at highest risk of injury and death: males and drivers 16 to 24 years. The Healthy Connecticut 2020 Objective is to reduce deaths due to motor vehicle accidents by 5% between 2010 and 2020 to no more than 295 per year.  Provisional 2018 data indicated that the number of deaths was less than the HCT 2020 target.

Data last updated June 2020 using 2017 and Provisional 2018 State Office of Vital Records Registration Reports data.  Next data update is expected 8/31/2021.

Potential Partners

Connecticut Department of Public Health; Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles; Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate; State Department of Education; Connecticut Judicial Branch; Connecticut Department of Transportation; Office of the Child Advocate; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other federal agencies; law enforcement; regional planning organizations; local public health agencies; health care providers including hospitals, emergency medical services, nurses, and emergency physicians; health professional associations; organizations and coalitions focused on prevention of motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and child safety; and others.

1) Guide to Community Preventive Services for Motor Vehicle-Related Injury Prevention;
2) Countermeasures that Work: A Highway Safety Countermeasure Guide for State Highway Safety Offices, Third Edition;
3) The Handbook of Injury and Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control - Interventions to Prevent Motor Vehicle Injuries

For current year strategies and actions, click here (right click to open link).

Advocate for increased DUI and sobriety check-points.

Advocate for re-testing for drivers aged 80 and over.

Advocate for high visibility enforcement of distracted driving laws.

Advocate for increased public awareness of the adverse effects of polypharmacy, especially among the older adult population.

Expand the current educational awareness campaign on driving under the influence.

Expand the current educational awareness campaign on Connecticut graduated driving licensing laws.